Glove for Absorbing Shock

ABSTRACT

Described herein is a glove for absorbing shock. The glove includes a glove body, and a shock absorbing member embedded in the glove body and made of a flexible material. The shock absorbing member includes cells partitioned by a cell wall and two-dimensionally arranged to absorb shock through buckling deformation of the cell wall. The glove has excellent buffering performance by absorbing vibration or shock based not only on material characteristics of the shock absorbing member but also on structural characteristics thereof, and improves efficiency in absorption of vibration or shock by increasing the degree of shrinkage or restoring force of the shock absorbing member, so that the glove can efficiently protect a user from shock.

CONTINUITY AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/081,224 filed 6 Apr. 2011.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relate to a glove for absorbing shock, which is configured to allow a shock absorbing member to absorb vibration or shock from an exterior not only through material characteristics but also through structural characteristics, thereby achieving excellent shock absorbing properties.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Generally, gloves are used to cover the hand to protect the hand from skin damage, cold, shock, and the like. The gloves are classified into a glove which has individual sheaths for the fingers and thumb, and a mitten which encases the thumb separately and the four fingers together, according to the shape of the glove. Here, the gloves may have a structure which completely encloses the fingers and thumb, or may have a semi-glove structure in which the fingers and the thumb are partially exposed.

Many kinds of shock absorbing gloves are used not only at industrial sites, but also for sports, mountain climbing, and other outdoor activities. Such shock absorbing gloves are have various shapes and are made of various materials according to parts of the glove to be exposed to vibration or shock and to conditions in which the gloves will be used.

Such a glove for absorbing shock includes a shock absorbing member to absorb vibration or shock during operation or outdoor activities. Such a shock absorbing member is made of a flexible material such as silicone, urethane, gel, rubber, and other synthetic resins to absorb vibration or shock based on material characteristics thereof.

Since such a conventional glove for absorbing shock is configured to absorb vibration or shock based only on the material characteristics of the shock absorbing member therein, absorption of vibration or shock is not sufficient, and particularly, limit of the degree of shrinkage or restoring force of the shock absorbing member restricts improvement in vibration or shock absorbing performance.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to providing a glove for absorbing shock, which includes a shock absorbing member configured to absorb vibration or shock based not only on material characteristics of the shock absorbing member but also on structural characteristics thereof and to increase the degree of shrinkage or restoring force of the shock absorbing member by these characteristics, thereby improving efficiency in absorption of vibration or shock.

In accordance with one aspect, a glove for absorbing shock includes: a glove body; and a shock absorbing member embedded in the glove body and made of a flexible material. The shock absorbing member includes cells partitioned by a cell wall and two-dimensionally arranged to absorb shock through buckling deformation of the cell wall.

The shock absorbing member may have a honeycomb structure constituted by the cells and the cell wall.

The shock absorbing member may be provided at one side of the cell wall with a pad which encloses one side of each of the cells while exposing the other side of each of the cells.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the following embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view of a glove for absorbing shock according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the glove according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a shock absorbing member of the glove according to the one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a modification of the shock absorbing member of the glove according to the one embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 5 is a plan view of another modification of the shock absorbing member of the glove according to the one embodiment of the present invention, and

FIG. 6 is a view of a glove for absorbing shock according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the following embodiments and may be embodied in different ways, and that the embodiments are given to provide complete disclosure of the invention and to provide thorough understanding of the invention to those skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is limited only by the accompanying claims and equivalents thereof herein, descriptions of details apparent to those skilled in the art will be omitted for clarity.

FIG. 1 is a view of a glove for absorbing shock according to one embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, the glove 100 for absorbing shock according to the embodiment may include a glove body 110 worn by a user on the hand and a shock absorbing member 120 embedded in the glove body 110.

The glove body 110 is worn by a user on the hand and may be made of various materials such as nylon, polyester, synthetic fibers, for example Spandex or Gore-Tex, natural fibers, for example cotton or wool, leather, or the like, according to usage conditions or purpose. The glove body 110 includes a plurality of buffering regions 112 formed at a portion for absorbing vibration or shock, for example, on a bottom surface 111 to receive the shock absorbing member 120 therein.

Although the glove body of this embodiment is illustrated as including the plurality of buffering regions 112, the glove body may have a single buffering region and the buffering region may be formed not only on the bottom surface 111 of the glove body 110 but also at other places according to usage conditions or purpose.

In the glove body 110, the shock absorbing member 120 may be embedded in the buffering region 112 and made of a flexible material such as silicone, urethane, rubber, or other synthetic resins to absorb vibration or shock based on material characteristics. The shock absorbing member 120 includes cells 122, which are partitioned by a cell wall 121 and two dimensionally continuously arranged to absorb vibration or shock through buckling deformation of the cell wall 121 when subjected to vibration or shock from the outside.

The cell wall 121 defines a boundary between adjacent cells 122 to thereby demonstrate excellent allowance of buckling deformation and may be vertical to a plane of the buffering region 112. Although the cell wall 121 is continuously formed in this embodiment, the cell wall 121 may have a discontinuous shape.

In this embodiment, the shock absorbing member 120 is located between an outer layer 113 and an inner layer 114 of the glove body 110 and is secured within the glove body 110 by sewing or bonding the outer layer 113 and the inner layer 114 to each other along an edge or other portions of the shock absorbing member 120.

Alternatively, with the shock absorbing member 120 located inside or outside the outer layer 113, a cover member (not shown) may be suitably cut and backstitched or bonded to the outer layer to cover the shock absorbing member 120.

In this embodiment, the shock absorbing member 120 has a honeycomb structure constituted by the cell wall 121 and the cells 122. For example, the cell wall 121 and the cells 122 may have a hexagonal shape in plan view.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the shock absorbing member 120 is provided at one side of the cell wall 121 with a pad 123 to prevent deterioration of restoring force of the shock absorbing member 120 due to excessive deformation of one side of the shock absorbing member 120, so that one side of each of the cells is enclosed by the pad 123 and the other side thereof is exposed. Namely, the pad 123 prevents excessive deformation of the cell wall 121 due to vibration or shock from the outside by enclosing the one side of each of the cells 122, thereby improving shock absorbing performance and endurance of the shock absorbing member 120 through improvement of restoring force thereof while allowing the shock absorbing member 120 to be stably secured within the glove body 110.

As shown in FIG. 4, a shock absorbing member 130 may include a cell wall 131 and cells 132, which have a rectangular shape instead of a hexagonal shape and constitute a honeycomb structure. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, a shock absorbing member 140 may include a cell wall 141 and cells 142, which have a circular shape. As such, the shock absorbing member may have various shapes and may be provided with a pad 133 or 143 at one side of the cell wall 131 or 141 and the cells 132 or 142.

As shown in FIG. 6, a glove 200 for absorbing shock according to another embodiment includes a glove body 210 worn by a user on the hand, and a shock absorbing member 220 embedded in the glove body 210 and made of a flexible material. As in the shock absorbing member 120 of the above embodiment, the shock absorbing member 220 includes cells 222, which are partitioned by a cell wall 221 and two dimensionally continuously arranged to absorb shock through buckling deformation of the cell wall 121, and a pad (not shown) disposed at one side of the cell wall 221 to enclose one side of each of the cells 222.

In this embodiment, the glove body 210 has a semi-glove structure in which the fingers and the thumb are partially exposed. Alternatively, the glove body 21 may have various shapes, such as a glove structure which has individual sheaths for the fingers and thumb, a mitten structure which encases the thumb separately and the four fingers together, and the like.

Next, operation of the glove for absorbing shock according to the embodiments will be described.

In the glove for absorbing shock 100 or 200 according to the embodiments, the shock absorbing member 120, 130, 140 or 220 absorbs vibration or shock based on the characteristics of the flexible material used for the shock absorbing member when subjected to the vibration or shock, and the cell wall 121, 131, 141 or 221 is located at a boundary between adjacent cells 122, 132, 142 or 122 to provide structural characteristics which allow buckling deformation of the cell wall upon application of vibration or shock. Accordingly, vibration or shock can be efficiently absorbed not only by the material characteristics of the shock absorbing member but also by the structural characteristics thereof.

Further, in the shock absorbing member 120, 130, 140 or 220 of the glove according to the embodiments, the degree of shrinkage and restoring force of the cell wall 121, 131, 141 or 221 are improved, so that the shock absorbing member 120, 130, 140 or 220 of the glove has high performance in absorption of vibration or shock. Particularly, the cell wall 121, 131, 141 or 221 is formed on the pad 123, 133 or 143 which encloses one side of each of the cells 122, 132, 142 or 222, thereby ensuring excellent restoring force while preventing excessive deformation. As a result, the glove for absorbing shock according to the embodiments has excellent buffering performance and endurance.

As such, the glove for absorbing shock according to the embodiments includes a shock absorbing member, which has excellent buffering performance by absorbing vibration or shock based not only on material characteristics of the shock absorbing member but also on structural characteristics thereof, and improves efficiency in absorption of vibration or shock by increasing the degree of shrinkage or restoring force of the shock absorbing member, so that the glove can efficiently protect a user from shock.

Although some embodiments have been described herein, it should be understood that these embodiments are given by way of illustration only and do not limit the scope of the invention, and that various modifications, changes and additions can be made by a person having ordinary knowledge in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention and should be construed as being included in the scope of the claims and equivalents thereof. 

1. A glove for absorbing shock comprising: a glove body; and a shock absorbing member embedded in the glove body and made of a flexible material, the shock absorbing member comprising cells partitioned by a cell wall and two-dimensionally arranged to absorb shock through buckling deformation of the cell wall.
 2. The glove according to claim 1, wherein the shock absorbing member has a honeycomb structure constituted by the cells and the cell wall.
 3. The glove according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the shock absorbing member is provided at one side of the cell wall with a pad which encloses one side of each of the cells while exposing the other side of each of the cells.
 4. A shock-absorbing glove, comprising: a glove body; and at least one shock-absorbing pad disposed between an inner layer of the glove body and an outer layer of the glove body, the at least one shock-absorbing pad partitioned into a plurality of cells by cell walls, said cells disposed continuously across a two-dimensional surface of the at least one shock-absorbing pad, said cell walls oriented vertically to a plane of the at least one shock-absorbing pad and said plurality of cells being closed on one end, wherein a thickness and a height of the cell walls is suitable to permit buckling deformation of the cell walls in response to shock loading of the at least one shock-absorbing pad.
 5. The shock-absorbing glove of claim 4 wherein the cell walls partition the at least one shock-absorbing pad into a plurality of adjacent hexagonal cells.
 6. The shock-absorbing glove of claim 4 wherein the cell walls partition the at least one shock-absorbing pad into a plurality of adjacent square cells.
 7. The shock-absorbing glove of claim 4 wherein the cell walls partition the at least one shock-absorbing pad into a plurality of separated circular cells.
 8. The shock-absorbing glove of claim 4 wherein the at least one shock-absorbing pad is at least two (2) shock-absorbing pads located on a palmar surface of the shock-absorbing glove.
 9. The shock-absorbing glove of claim 8 wherein the shock-absorbing glove exposes fingers and thumb of a wearer's hand.
 10. The shock-absorbing glove of claim 4 wherein the at least one shock-absorbing pad is at least five (5) shock-absorbing pads located on a palmar surface of the shock-absorbing glove.
 11. A shock-absorbing glove comprising: a glove body having an inner layer and an outer layer disposed on a palm portion, said inner layer and outer layer separated by a shock-absorbing member, the shock-absorbing member comprising a continuous pad adjacent the inner layer and a plurality of cell walls extending from the continuous pad to adjacent the outer layer, each of said cell walls oriented roughly vertically with respect to the continuous pad and dimensioned so that the cell walls can deform by buckling in response to vibration loads applied to the outer layer.
 12. The shock-absorbing glove of claim 11, wherein the shock-absorbing member is made of silicone.
 13. The shock-absorbing glove of claim 11, wherein the shock-absorbing member is made of urethane.
 14. The shock-absorbing glove of claim 11, wherein the shock-absorbing member is made of rubber. 